Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"Even the priests, who approach the Lord, must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them." Exodus 19:22
"Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord spoke of when he said: " 'Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.' " Aaron remained silent. Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel, and said to them, "Come here; carry your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary." So they came and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses ordered. Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Do not let your hair become unkempt, and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the Lord will be angry with the whole community. But your relatives, all the house of Israel, may mourn for those the Lord has destroyed by fire. Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting or you will die, because the Lord's anointing oil is on you." So they did as Moses said." Leviticus 10:1-7
"This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord talked with Moses on Mount Sinai. The names of the sons of Aaron were Nadab the firstborn and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Those were the names of Aaron's sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. Nadab and Abihu, however, fell dead before the Lord when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai. They had no sons; so only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron." Numbers 3:1-4
Success only sustains itself as long as one performs at a level that breeds success. Favor only prolongs when one lives in a way to garner favor. This was certainly true in regard to Aaron’s two sons who are in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons as Leviticus, Chapter 10 opens.
There had been plenty of preparation and preliminary instruction as to how worship was to be conducted in the tabernacles to include proper conducting of sacrifices and burning of incense. The Lord covered all the bases in delivering His expectations through Moses and Aaron and his sons knew what they were supposed to do and how they were supposed to do it. And it was very clear that Aaron was the high priest with the greatest level of spiritual responsibility and accountability. His sons were there to assist him as needed with the work the Lord commanded he do.
Well, as we read in the first verses of Chapter 10, Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, "took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command." God’s clear direction from Exodus, Chapter 19, put the priests on notice. They wouldn’t receive any preferential treatment for their sinful actions just because they were priests. Violating God commands would cause the Lord to "break out against them."
Well God made good on His word because we see where "fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed (Nadab and Abihu), and they died before the Lord." The sons knew they weren’t to be in the tabernacle unattended and performing acts. Yet, "they made an offering with unauthorized fire" and paid for their sins with their lives.
This won’t be the last instance in scripture where God sends judgment in the form of a consuming fire.
In Numbers, Chapter 16, 250 men who were well-known Israelite community leaders will be consumed by fire as they offer incense.
In Second Kings, Chapter 1, we see where two separate occasions occur where a captain and his 50 men are consumed by fire as they attempt to make Elijah come down off a hill to meet with King Ahaziah who Elijah had prophesied would die in his bed.
And of course, all those whose names are not found in the Book of Life will find themselves cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)
So what are we to make of this scripture today? Well, there are three main points I want to underscore:
1. God despises disobedience and dishonesty. Aaron’s sons knew that what they were doing was wrong. In defiance of God’s commands, they decided to do their own thing, burning the wrong incense with the wrong fire. Thus, God sent His own fire to take care of the problem once and for all. If the people didn’t get the message before, then maybe they would get it now. God expected and still expects full compliance with His commands, especially from people chosen to be His spiritual leaders.
2. God always had others ready to fill in for anyone who perishes because they can’t obey Him. Nadab and Abihu were now dead but the tabernacle would still be manned by Aaron and his sons. It’s just that Aaron would have his two other sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, assisting him. Worship had to continue and it did.
3. In Jesus Christ, God withdrew condemnation for those who believed in Him (John 3:17, Romans 8:1). Jesus paid the price for our sins, saved us and intercedes for us so that we might not be destroyed by our sinfulness. Through Him, we find justification as confirmed by these words from Paul:
"Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses." Acts 13:38-39
Justified. In other words, it is just as if I had never sinned. All through Jesus…all because of Jesus.
Friends, are you safe from condemnation or are you closer to being consumed by the fire? It’s a rather simple matter of whether you believe and trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior or not. The choice is up to you. My recommendation is that you run into the arms of Jesus right now if you don’t know Him. And if you do know Him, never cease to get down on your knees and give thanks for the condemnation He saves you from.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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